Some books do not need sequels; they are perfect as is. The author did a great job the first time around, and the reader needs no more from the author. Then there are other books that lend themselves perfectly to companion novels. I am not talking about things like the Warriors series, or any of these other incredibly long “stop, the first ten were enough” series.

No, the book series that I am thinking of have become as timeless as they are classic: Anne of Green Gables, Betsy-Tacy, and Pippi Longstocking to name a few. These series are more character driven, and it is these characters that are written so deftly by their authors that make us yearn to know more of their story. Whether the reader is a child discovering a character like Anne for the first time or an adult reminiscing about her childhood, these series resonate with us, remind us about the truth and beauty within ourselves, remind us of who we wanted to grow up.

Shannon Hale has given us another great character in Miri Larendaugher of Mount Eskel. We first meet Miri in The Princess Academy. She is a sparky daughter of a quarry worker who loves making people smile. Her opinions of the world are very black and white. She longs to help her family in the quarry, but her father forbids her from being in the mines. When the king’s decree comes and the Princess Academy is set up for all the girls from her village, Miri eyes are opened to world around her and the multitude of differing views and perspectives of others. She absorbs so much in the year and a half the first book covers and grows in many ways in this coming of age story.

What is amazing about Miri’s new story The Princess Academy: Palace of Stone, is that is is also a coming of age story. The first book focuses on Truth and Fairness, but it is Ethics that play a big role in the second novel. Hale weaves this tale in such a way that the reader begins to redefine her own views and discover new things about herself.

Thank you Shannon Hale for giving us another perfect book collection to add to the list of timeless books. If I had read these as a teenager, they would have changed my world. Then again, reading them as a twenty-something, they have affected me in a completely different, possibly more defining way. And it is this alone that make these feel classic to me. No matter what age the reader is when she reads about Miri, she will be touched and will glean something different. I love it!

Shannon Hale will be here Wednesday, August 29th at 4:00 (tomorrow!). I can’t wait to meet this fantastic storyteller.

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